How can parasites help conservation?

Parasites can be indicators of major threats to animal conservation.

Parasite prevalence and assemblages have been used to determine the natal origin or stock of an animal which is an important aspect of managing harvest.

The relatively high evolutionary rate of parasite genomes can be used to infer contact among animals and movement across landscapes to infer connectivity in fragmented habitats as well as to indicate the origin of invasive species.

Parasites can also be biological control agents to reduce or eliminate invasive species. Parasite sensitivity to environmental conditions can be assessed as an early indication of climate change.

Right: Fishing boat and forest logging, representing key focuses of conservation management.

Bio

Roderick “Erick” Gagne is an Assistant Professor of Wildlife Disease Ecology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Erick is a part of the Wildlife Futures Program, a joint venture between Penn Vet and the Pennsylvania Game Commission that provides a sciencebased approach to wildlife health.

Erick’s work uses molecular and ecological techniques to study infectious disease in wildlife. He is working on projects involving viral discovery, disease spread across landscapes, and pathogen host switching. Twitter: @ErickGagne1

Wildlife Futures: https://www. vet.upenn.edu/research/centerslaboratories/research-initiatives/ wildlife-futures-program/wildlifefutures-team

Study publication: https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13719